The impact of convenience stores in the UK
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has released their 2019 Local Shop Report, which gives an in-depth breakdown of the convenience sector of the retail industry.
We have taken a look at the results and have extracted some interesting facts about UK convenience stores which you may not have known.
The importance of convenience stores and local shops
Convenience stores are often overlooked in the retail industry, especially when compared to the retail giants, such as supermarkets, or large high street clothing retailers, but convenience stores play a huge part in UK communities.
Job creation
The report showed that there are 405,000 employees in the convenience store sector, and according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it has a larger amount of people working in the industry than the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry and the real estate industry put together
This shows that this sector is not only convenient for the people who want to make purchases, but also for the community around them, who may benefit from flexible employment on their doorstep.
Ease of access
Convenience stores are named so because they are convenient. 57% of people who shop at convenience stores make their way to stores on foot, and 80% of customers surveyed live less than a mile away from their nearest convenience store.
The average customer will also visit their nearest convenience store 3.8 times a week, with 26% of all customers saying they visit every day
Impact on communities
As part of the survey, customers were asked to rank which establishments in the community had the most positive impact on the local area. Amongst the different types of establishments were pharmacies, pubs and bars, banks, restaurants, charity shops, petrol stations and pawnbrokers, of which, post offices and convenience stores were 1st and 2nd, respectively, on the list.
Convenience stores were also ranked 3rd best type of establishment for reducing loneliness in the community.
15 key convenience store stats
46,388
The number of convenience stores in mainland UK
£40.3bn
The value of sales the sector was responsible for in 2019
1/5
Of overall UK grocery sales are made by convenience stores
80%
of users live less than a mile away from their nearest store
17%
of shop owners take no annual holidays
74%
of convenience stores have an EPoS service
Population
There is one convenience store for every:
- 1,455 people in England
- 1,093 people in Scotland
- 1,071 people in Wales
Useful services
Customers thought that the most useful services were:
- cash machines
- post offices
- click and collect
Purchases
On each visit the average customer will:
- Buy 2.31 items
- Spend £6.38
Payments
Convenience stores payment acceptance:
- 100% accept cash
- 94% accept debit cards
- 91% accept credit cards
- 88% accept contactless payments
- 80% accept mobile payments
41%
of employees have worked in the industry for between one and five years
43%
work on a part time basis between 0-16 hours each week
19%
of shop owners work more than 70 hours a week
Travel to store
To get to a convenience store:
- 57% of customers walk
- 38% drive
- 3% use public transport
- 2% use other forms of transport
Work commute
To commute work:
- 53% of employees walk
- 33% drive
- 11% use public transport
- 3% use another form of transport
Retail insurance with Premierline
As one of the biggest industries in the UK, the retail industry has thousands of different businesses, all with different business insurance needs, which is why it is so difficult to get the cover that will protect your business should the worst happen.
At Premierline, our insurance experts will assess your business’ needs to find the insurance policy that can give your shop the protection it needs. We work with some of the UK’s most well-known insurance companies to make sure that your shop insurance is competitively priced and suits your requirements. Get in touch with one of our insurance advisors to compare retail insurance quotes today.
Business insurance with Premierline
It is important to make sure that you have the right insurance in place to protect the business that you have built. Every business is different and has its own business insurance needs, which is why we work with some of the UK's most well-known insurers to ensure that you are getting the right insurance cover for your business.
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